Aesthetics

Often Aesthetics seems like a difficult topic to address. But after a classroom session discussing the many ways to address the topic it seems there are more ways then we might realize we could.

During the first portion of the class we watched a video where a man taught his class a lesson that was completely based off of aesthetics. The guy really stressed the ideas of aesthetic experiences. For instance putting the cream into coffee was an aesthetic experience to him as he described the details of what he was seeing in verbs and adjectives that really stressed why it was so pleasing for him. He then had the class write their own statement about an aesthetic experience. Aesthetics is something to be enjoyed and I think he really did get his class to understand that through his lesson.

Afterwards we were asked as a class to form groups and have a small group discussion on how we thought aesthetic could be addressed in certain age groups. My group was given the topic of elementary school students. We thought that this was a little more challenging then other age groups, as one is limited to what the student does know. So we thought that we might make a game out of it that allowed the student to decide what they thought was good art. Give them an opportunity to learn about beauty and art. It is a little more difficult to describe to them some of the bigger things that occur in aesthetics but it is a building ground so that you can eventually get to the point. 

Mrs. M

I learned a great deal from this teacher. She is a teacher in the special education department at her school. She came to talk to us about how we can create an environment that is beneficial to the students who have special needs.

One of the first things that she shared with us was to refer to them as people. Do not refer to the student by their disability. It is not something that defines them it is just something that they happen to have. Even though I have learned that in previous classes I do think that it is an important point to stress because people do it with out realizing it often.

I also became more familiar with the IEP’s through her. It made me realize just how important it is to be a part of them. These are meetings that have legal bindings that help you understand what you are required to do in order to be most beneficial to a student. They tell you how you can meet their needs and goals. It is also nice to be a part of the meetings as an art teacher she says because sometimes that is an area where students in her classes strive. But either way as a teacher, find the strengths of the student and bring that to light in the IEP meeting. Just like anyone else it is nice to hear the good things when there might be a negatives at some of these meetings.

She also gave us some pointers about our classroom. Allow students to know what is going on in the classroom. Write the assignments on the boards so they can see it. Also let them know when there is going to be a change or if you know you are going to be gone. Some students don’t take well to change and need that extra knowing. Even the supplies you get can make a difference for instance big handled brushes are easier for some students to work with. Lastly get to know your students and have high expectations for them. If you have high expectations you will receive higher results from them. 

Mrs. L

I was fortunate to have been in this teacher’s classroom to really see how she runs things. While speaking to her class she was very informative and really reinforced everything that I learned from her. One of her key things was organization. As she said when you are going from class to class with very little time you really need to be on time of things in terms of organization. If you are not then that leaves little time for the projects that need to be done.

She also shared some valuable information when it comes to grading. One of the first things she said was that she Rarely gives out the top grade of a 4 on skills. Students have lots to learn at that age and getting a 4 is challenging. She also mentioned that when it comes to some students some students have different needs and goals that are to be met. This means that you have to consider your grading different for these students by seeing if they meet their individualized goals.

Behavior was another topic discussed. In her school they have a system based on tickets, which are yellow and green tickets. The yellow is what students don’t want this is something that represents bad behavior. What I thought was excellent though was the fact that they had green tickets. When they got so many of these tickets that meant they were up for a reward. I think that is a great way to motivate kids to be on their toes to be good. They never know when a green ticket is going to be given but if they are caught doing good things there is a better chance of getting one. So, This might train kids to start doing good things on their own too!